Making Notes. The Brixton Pound. Ian Cracknell. nickdeakin.com PAGE 6. In September 2009, Brixton hit the national headlines with the news that it was to launch its own local currency, the Brixton Pound (B£). In discussing the story with a friend, I told her that I thought this was a brilliant thing - a vehicle for independent business to invest in itself, enabling like-minded individuals to put their money where their mouths are in direct support of local trade, keeping their hard-earned within the local economy. To my disbelief, my friend disagreed. She didn’t think it would work. It was idealistic. It was unrealistic. In summary, she didn’t think it was a good idea. I vowed to return to the issue a year later, as I had not just every hope for the project’s success, but every belief that this was a worthwhile, workable idea to strengthen independent trade within the community. I really wanted my friend to be wrong about this. Of equal value to your regular pound sterling, the B£ isn’t designed to replace our national currency, but to complement it, working to retain the diversity of traders on Brixton’s high street and markets. It isn’t the only local currency in the UK - there is the Totnes Pound in Devon, the Lewes Pound in Sussex and the Stroud Pound in Gloucestershire. These local currencies seem to be part of a growing global zeitgeist of supporting local independent trade and betterment of the environment by supplying consumer needs locally. The B£ was set up by a group of volunteers from Transition Town Brixton, a community-led organisation which is part of an international umbrella movement for action on energy issues and climate change. Local currencies are not a new thing. They’ve been in existence since the Middle Ages, and for centuries they were the only kind of money there was until European countries developed their own national currencies. But despite the concept’s long history, the project raises difficult questions. The B£ can’t be banked, so with both interest and lending removed from the financial circuit, isn’t the currency redundant for true investment in business and the local economy? As our financial transactions become increasingly paperless, doesn’t the future of a paper-only currency look doubtful? The former is a definite sticking point, and one that has already caused some businesses to opt out of the scheme, having found the process of exchanging the notes to be a hassle. But maybe that’s the key – instead of exchanging them, maybe they should be spending them on supplies from their fellow B£ trading stores. A potential answer to the second problem could also counteract the negative side-effect of the first, because Transition Town Brixton is currently working on a digital platform for mobile phones, potentially removing paper from the equation. So how do you measure the success of such a project? How about expansion? One year on, over 170 shops, restaurants, cafes and market traders in Brixton now accept the B£. There’s very little you can’t buy with the currency, from food, electronic goods, hardware and garden products to the services of pharmacists, drycleaners, solicitors and even architects. As an additional incentive, shoppers also receive selected discounts and special offers when making purchases with the B£. Even the local council, Lambeth, is working to enable people to pay their bills with the currency. How about the increased media profile for Brixton? Lambeth Council has estimated the value of the project’s national publicity campaign to be £10,000. The benefit to the shops is obvious - all participating businesses receive free advertising, marketing and publicity just by agreeing to take part in the scheme. There are a few places on the list that I’d like to make a point of visiting next time I’m in London, particularly The Bureau of Silly Ideas, where one can apparently indulge in theatre, pie-throwing and making robots. I mean, who wouldn’t want to support that? I still believe the Brixton Pound is a good thing and I’m happy to confirm that it continues to enjoy every success. It has succeeded in promoting an idea to the nation: that we can take greater control of the financial mechanisms within our communities, for the benefit of our much-loved independent shops and businesses, our relationship with them as consumers, our investment in the local economy and our impact on the environment. Sheffield Pound, anyone? brixtonpound.org / transitionnetwork.org PAGE 7.